The new Minneapolis home of architecture firm Perkins+Will brings the open industrial warehouse aesthetic to an unlikely place: a Class A office tower designed by one of the nation’s most prominent 20th century architects.

Perched on the third floor of the IDS Center overlooking Crystal Court and Nicollet Mall, the firm’s 11,800-square-foot office is a place where none of the 61 employees has the same desk every day and they’re able to shift to different seating configurations.

“That coffee shop, third-workplace type of vibe is a new way to work,” said Russell Philstrom, associate architect. “Here you can end up working in three different settings throughout the week, so we made sure there was flexibility in our space for all kinds of work environments.”

Design director David Dimond said the firm conducted a mobility study at its former two-level office in the Essex Building (931 Nicollet Mall) to determine if a wall-less environment with a slightly unfinished appearance would be embraced or feared by employees. The results favored an open office that looks like a co-working space except for the presence of the double-monitor desks commonly used by architects.

“We wanted to push (open office) to the red line, and even further,” Dimond said. “We used our own planning and strategy resources to learn that this works, with one catch — you have to have the technology to support it.”

Many cabinets and woodwork sport a raw finish to complement the concrete floor and exposed ceiling. Plywood tables and shelves were repurposed by contractor Minneapolis-based Gardner Builders from the firm’s old workstations. Just about every furnishing is on rollers to allow for easy movement.

To mitigate the noise and allow for a work-anywhere environment, the office features an expansive Wi-Fi network, noise-canceling headsets, closet-size rooms for private conversations and cubby shelves for every employee.

A tall, 200-foot-long gallery along one wall serves as the main employee storage area, offering metal ladders for hard-to-reach items. Although employees do not have their own desks, they have lockers in a separate room for personal items.

To encourage the staff to mix it up, 50 desks are available for nearly five-dozen employees, said Dimond. But seating at high-top tables and in other areas offers options for getting work done in an office half the size of the former one.

The firm put a premium on flexibility. Near the entrance, a conference room with a glass-window garage door allows the space to open for larger events by stretching into the kitchen and lunch area. The space is used for special events and for speakers invited to discuss architectural topics.

Perkins+Will used sustainable wood products and gypsum board called Air Renew that removes formaldehyde from the air, said Philstrom. The printer room has muddedseams that have not been painted over in part to avoid using more materials.

“The approach has thrown a lot of people off,” said Philstrom. “Inspectors asked where the paint, carpet, the ceiling tile were. They asked, ‘Is this finished?’”

In fact, it is, for now.

While trying to create a warehouse atmosphere in the IDS, the firm paid attention to some of the sensibilities of IDS architect Philip Johnson. Three smaller, glass-and-wood enclosed project rooms are sized to the dimensions of the cubes hanging from the Crystal Court ceiling. The gallery’s shelving divides vertically to the same dimensions as the window frames, reflecting Johnson’s love of geometry.

Of the firm’s 25 global offices, Minneapolis is on the small side, said Dimond, but the new space has received internal notice for its ambitious approach to the open office concept.

The office serves as an example of a future office for clients and is sustainable enough to be submitted for certifications offered by the United States Green Building Council and the Living Building Challenge.

Still, Dimond sees the office as a work in progress. “This is where the market is going in terms of offices — more open, more vibrant, with a warehouse feel,” Dimond said. “But we plan to keep tweaking it.”

This is one of three smaller, glass-and-wood enclosed project rooms that, in a nod to the sensibilities of IDS architect Philip Johnson, are sized to the dimensions of the cubes hanging from the Crystal Court ceiling.

The new Minneapolis digs of the architecture firm Perkins+Will brings together the industrial aesthetic of open warehouse spaces with Class A office space designed by one of America’s pre-eminent 20th century architects.

Near the entrance, a conference room with a glass-window garage door allows the space to open for larger events by stretching into the kitchen and lunch area.

There are no ceiling tiles. The ceiling was left open.

The kitchen/breakroom area.

Near the entrance, a conference room with a glass-window garage door allows the space to open for larger events by stretching into the kitchen and lunch area.